A Father's Love
by King of Everything
Summary: Everyone knows Axel, number 8 of the Organization, a very powerful Nobody, and an all around cool guy. This is the story of Ale, and what happened in his life to lead him to choose to give up his heart. AxelXOriginal Character.


Notes: This is a story about my all time favorite Kingdom Hearts character, Axel. In particular about his last few days before he became a nobody. Please note that I unfortunately do not have a PlayStation 2 (or 3) and so I have only played Chain of Memories first hand. I have read as much as I possibly can about the rest of the story however and I hope that everything in this story works out with the cannon. If not, please tell me what is wrong so that I can fix it.

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Disclaimer: Axel is awesome, Square makes great games, and I do not own Kingdom Hearts. These are the three things I know absolutely.

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**_A Father's Love_**

It was sunset in a place called Galat. Not that that meant anything really, the city was near the northern pole on this world, the only place that was capable of sustaining human life on this blazing hot world, and sunset could often last upwards of three days long. However if one looked at the clock tower they would be able to tell that it was about the time when sunset actually should be. The city was full of many different beings, some stranger then others.

Our story focuses around a young man, 19 or 20 perhaps, with spiked and firey red hair and a pair of blue tattoos underneath his eyes. He had very angular facial features, and his green eyes glinted like emeralds even in the dim light of Galat. He wore a simple black leather jacket and tight deep blue jeans. The way he strutted down the sidewalk gave him an aura of confidence that made others stop and stare at him as he walked by. His cocky grin only amplified this. His name, at least at this point and time, was Ale.

Ale was well known around these parts. Most everyone in the city knew him or had heard of him, it was hard not to make a name for yourself when you were constantly either getting into trouble or bailing out someone else who was in trouble. Despite his status as a guy who never followed any of the rules, he was very popular with the city-folk. The ladies loved him (and he certainly loved them) and the kids all saw him as a hero. And really, who didn't love a good rogue?

It wasn't like he ever did anything amoral, like stealing. He picked a fight every once in a while true, but no one ever died. Sure the old grandpa's in the town had a problem with him, and the police were always on the alert for something they could bust him for (which he never gave them), but it was only the natural prejudice that always accompanied people like himself.

Yes indeed he had the life. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, and almost everyone loved him for it. Who could ever want anything more.

On this particular day he had decided to go out to a local bar (maybe he was old enough to drink and maybe he wasn't). Perhaps find a beautiful young girl to flirt with and have dote on him. He would of course cut it off before she got too attached, he wasn't cruel. Of course with his never ending charm that would take all of about two minutes.

He suddenly realized however that he was slightly hungry. He turned from his intended path and down one where he knew an old hot dog vendor would be closing up for the night soon. The man was a friend of his, so he wouldn't mind staying open a few more seconds. His original destination would have to wait.

About half-way there he heard a strange sound coming from a nearby alleyway. It almost sounded like muffled screams. He paused for a moment and turned his head towards the thin opening between buildings. It was impossible to see exactly what was happening in the shadows, but there was no doubt that someone, multiple someones actually, were scuffling around rather violently back there. He couldn't hear anymore screams though.

He was about to turn away, after all whatever someone wanted to do in the back alleys of the town was certainly none of his business, when he distinctly heard the screams again. Someone was in trouble. Ale hesitated for a moment. He was no hero, and he had never wanted to be. On the other hand it would be a very lousy thing to do to just leave someone in trouble. He had no idea what kind of trouble this person could be in.

Ale turned his head back in the direction of the hot dog stand and then sighed and made his way into the alley. Odds were, his day was shot.

There were three figures before him. The one who most drew his attention was a woman, apparently knocked unconscious onto the ground. Two men, obviously thugs, stood over her, one holding what Ale assumed was her purse, the other a switchblade. The woman was being mugged, and though he didn't want to think about it, by the looks of her ragged and slightly torn blouse the two men had something even worse planned for her as well.

"Excuse me," Ale interrupted the two men as they began to reach down for her. Startled, they twisted around so quickly that one knocked into the other and nearly sent them both tumbling to the ground. Ale resisted the urge to laugh at the obviously drunk pair, "You two gentlemen don't seem to be treating that lady very well. I'm afraid I will have to relieve her of your presence."

The men stared at him as though he had spoken in latin. After a moment the one with the switchblade spoke, "Hey...who's zis punk eh?" His voice was so slurred that even Ale had trouble understanding him, "Look man, youze betta get the crap outta our way or weze gonna havta beatcha up good."

Ale couldn't help but chuckle, "Very well then, try to "beat me up good" if you can." He grinned in excitement and fell into a fighting stance.

The men looked dumbfounded, as though they weren't sure exactly what to make of him. After a while the man on the right simply turned back to the woman on the ground. Ale sighed, he supposed he would have to make the first move.

He attacked the man on the left first. It took all of about four seconds to knock him unconscious. One elbow to the back of the head, followed by a knee to the gut, and he was out like a light.

The other man panicked, swinging his switchblade toward Ale's chest. The grinning boy caught the man's wrist in his own hand and with a sickening twist, dislocated the man's shoulder. As the man screamed in pain, Ale quickly grabbed his head and slammed his knee into his face, crunching his nose and probably cracking his skull. The man fell unconscious and collapsed onto the ground next to his friend.

Ale was almost disappointed, these two hadn't even been worth the effort. He turned to the girl on the ground and looked her over. He didn't recognize her, which meant she didn't live in Galat. There wasn't a person in this city whom he didn't know.

The first thing that he noticed was that she was rather strikingly beautiful. Though ragged from her attackers her hair was smooth and brown and he estimated that it would reach all the way down her back. Her smooth face made her look slightly younger then she was (he estimated that she was about a year or so younger then himself). Indeed she was much prettier then most of the girls whom he allowed himself to flirt with.

Suddenly he was much happier about his plans being messed up.

Now however wasn't the time to think about that, he needed to get this girl some help. Unfortunately, while this city did of course have a hospital, it was not one that Ale trusted at all. The doctors were all people who cared much more about munny then curing their patients and they would be likely to do all sorts of tests on the girl that she didn't need and that were very expensive. Besides, a quick run of his hand over her scalp told him that she probably only had a concussion. Most likely she fell down in the scuffle and hit her head. She would wake up soon, no problem. He wondered briefly if she might be here visiting family and decided to check her purse for any sort of ID. If he recognized the last name he could know some place to bring her.

He didn't find anything.

Well Ale certainly wasn't going to just leave her here on the ground. He smirked as he picked her up bridal style and walked out of the dark alley.

* * *

The woman blinked heavily at the sudden change in light as she opened her eyes. Her head was pounding, but she felt otherwise comfortable. She seemed to be wrapped up in blankets and laying on a bed of some sort.

Her eyes adjusted to the light and she sat up. She was in a room that she didn't recognize. The walls were painted in warm colors and covered in pictures of far away places. It was hard to tell, but she got the impression from the large television placed on the wall facing the bed and the expensive looking paintings that whoever lived here had a decent bit of money.

She noticed a wooden tray placed on a bedside table with a glass of what looked like orange juice and a plate of very slightly burnt toast. A note rested on the tray that simply stated "For you."

The girl ignored the plate and searched her memory for where she had been last. She remembered walking down the streets of a city that she had never been before, searching for a hotel that she had made reservations in the day before. She had been jumped by two men, gangsters judging by the looks of them, and tried to fight them off. She had fallen and cracked her head against the concrete. After that...nothing.

She pulled down the sheets and noticed that she was still wearing the same clothes as she had before being attacked, though they were slightly torn. Shaking her head slightly she got out of the bed and made her way to the door.

Immediately outside the door was a short flight of stairs leading to a much larger room. The stairs hugged the side of the wall and the door was simply attached to the side of the wall. The room that she was looking down on was nearly an entire house in and of itself. A kitchen took up one forth of it, the rest being a huge living room. A television that seemed as though it were at lest twenty feet long was placed against one wall, surrounded by glass windows which made up the entire back wall.

By looking outside these windows she could tell that the room was at lest 50 or 60 stories off the ground. A penthouse then.

In the center was a large table with the remains of what looked like a takeout dinner. The entire place seemed pretty messy actually, not at all like the very clean bedroom that she had just come from. In one corner was a large computer which was covered in so much dust that she doubted that it had ever been used, in the other was a much more well worn exercise set up. In front of the huge television set was an equally large leather sofa that she guessed at least a dozen people could sit at comfortably.

There was a man sleeping on this couch.

She looked over him for a moment, quickly realising that she had never seen him before. This place was probably his home, which meant that he had brought her here. She had only seen a short glimpse of them but he didn't look like one of her attackers. The atmosphere of this place didn't really feel dangerous anyways. And if he was a kidnapper then he wasn't a very good one. He was asleep and if she wanted to she could just walk out the door and he wouldn't know any difference.

So then did he rescue her? But then why bring her here? Why not to a police station or, if she had been knocked unconscious, a hospital? There was something fishy about this, but it didn't feel dangerous. If he had saved her, then she would feel wrong sneaking out, but if he was a bad guy then she didn't want to waste her opportunity to escape.

She decided that it was better to take a chance at being rude then take a chance at being in much more serious trouble. She quickly tip-toed down the steps and towards the door.

She was less then a foot away from the exit when she heard a voice behind her, "I was wondering when you were going to wake up. You must have really hit your head hard."

The woman smiled ruefully and turned to see that the man had not changed his position in the slightest. Not even his eyes were opened. The only perceptible difference was the barely hidden smirk on his face. He had only been feigning sleep.

She racked her mind to think of something to say, having been caught trying to sneak out, but her mind drew a blank. What exactly does one say to someone who may or may not be your kidnapper after they catch you trying to sneak out of their house?

He seemed to catch on to her discomfort and spoke first, "Typically when someone rescues you, the right thing to say is 'thank you'." he opened one eye and grinned at her. Her eyes narrowed slightly but he continued before she could speak, "You were pretty heavily out of it so perhaps I should explain what happened. I discovered you being violently attacked by a pair of thugs in one of the alleyways in the city and rather gallantly came to your rescue if I do say so myself." His grin widened. "Since I couldn't find any sort of identification that might tell me where you live, I took you back here to my abode."

Finally she found the voice to speak, "Why didn't you take me to the police station?" The words came out in a more accusing sort of way then she intended.

He looked confused for a moment and then smiled, "I did call them of course, to tell them where to find the two thugs that I left in the alleyway. They told me to bring you to the hospital."

"And why didn't you do that?" she asked when he didn't elaborate further.

"Because I happen to know that the doctor of this city is a barely certified fool who is more likely then not out drunk somewhere, and even if he was sober he would be likely to try and find some reason to give you a lobotomy."

The woman narrowed her eyes in suspicion. A bad doctor seemed like an awfully convenient excuse. "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Ale," He replied, "Commit it to memory. And yours?"

She raised an eyebrow at his odd reply. She wasn't sure what to make of this person, but despite her apprehensions and suspicions something told her that he wasn't really a dangerous person, she decided that it wouldn't hurt to tell him her name "Serena."

Ale stood up and did a slight bow, "Well then Serena, I suppose as your rescuer and as a good host I should provide you with something nice to eat. You've been out for quite a while."

* * *

Serena felt like she was waking on pins and needles as she watched Ale eat his sandwich from across the table. He seemed totally at ease and she really didn't feel like he was going to harm her, but she still couldn't be one-hundred percent certain that he was telling her the truth.

According to him she had been knocked unconscious for over 7 hours, and she had been surprised by how hungry she had been. Still she hadn't taken a bite out of her BLT sandwich. It looked delicious, like the type you would get at a fancy bistro, but you could never tell what he could have slipped in there.

On the other hand if he were planning something bad he had had plenty of chances before. Still you could never tell how wierdo's minds worked.

His voice interrupted her, "So Ms. Serena, I know most people in this part of the city, but I have never seen you before. Do you live here?"

She shook her head as she remembered her reasons for being here, "No, I have never been to this city before."

"So then what are you doing here? Family?" He looked genuinely curious.

"Uh...no, work actually." She lowered her head slightly, "I work for a weapons manufacturer that has been having some financial problems so they decided to set up a shop in this Galat. They sent me to be the manager."

"So they made you leave your home?"

"I volunteered, I didn't have very much tying me down to that place." She looked depressed, he commented on it, I suppose that I just never had much of a life back in my old home-town, I'm hoping for better luck here."

Ale nodded solemnly, "So a weapons shop eh? That aught to do well here. As you saw firsthand this can be a rough city and most people would like the idea of having a bit of security. Also many people have to go out into the surrounding desserts for various reasons and with things like bandits and the multitude of dangerous creatures out there most everyone could use a weapon of some sorts. I'm sure that you'll see me in there at some point." He smirked to himself as though he had just thought of a privet joke and then turned his head up to her.

She nodded, ignoring his smirk, "Yeah, that was the thinking behind the idea, I was just on my way to get a hotel when those goons jumped me."

Ale smiled, "Good thing I was there then eh? It would have been a shame to deprive this city of it's new weapons saleswoman." He looked very proud of himself.

Despite herself, Serena chuckled slightly, "Yes what would we do without another merchant of death in our world."

Ale raised an eyebrow, "You don't like what you do?" he guessed.

She shrugged, "Logically I know that even if there were no weapon merchants the people whom are so evil that they are willing to kill someone would still get their hands on weapons, so really all I am doing is giving the people who aren't willing to get them illegally a way to protect themselves, but I still sometimes wish that there was some way that I could know the intentions of the people who I sell to."

Ale smiled ruefully, "You don't trust people very easily do you?"

She mimicked his smile, "Product of the trade I guess, I see a lot of bad guys." she seemed to think for a moment, "Of course I also see a lot of good people."

The red-head chuckled, "So then your just a pessimist in general?"

Serena just shrugged non-committedly.

Ale smiled at her, "I think I know the shop you are referring to. I've walked by it a couple times, the sign says that it should open tomorrow. It's on the west side of town right?"

Serena nodded, "That's the one, I have to be there early in the morning."

The red-haired man nodded and smiled, "It's sort of far away from here, I'll drive you over in the morning if you like."

Serena felt the worry come back slightly, "What do you mean?" she asked, not able to keep a note of distrust in her voice. Technically she still had no idea what kind of a guy this could be.

If Ale noticed he didn't comment on it, "Well.." his face flashed to a clock on the wall, "Even though the sun is still up, it is 3 o'clock in the morning, much too late to get a hotel room, so you will have to stay here toni-"

"I'm not spending the night in the home of a total stranger!" She sounded incredulous.

Ale raised an eyebrow, "I suppose you could sleep on the sidewalk if you prefer, but I wouldn't want you to risk pneumonia on your first day on the job."

Serena glared at him, "And where exacly would I sleep?"

Ale simply gestured to the door leading to the room that she had woken up in, "When I bought this place that was intended to be my room, but I have never actually slept there, so it has become a guest room. I always sleep on the couch."

Serena turned her head down, and noticed her untouched sandwitch. She sighed and supposed that she was just going to have to take her chances. Her stomache grumbled as she took a bite.

* * *

Ale smiled as he walked out onto the street, Serena right behind him. It was now 6 in the morning (though the sun was still in the process of setting) and as promised Ale was going to take Serena to her new job. She had complained at first, much to Ale's amusement, saying that she would simply get a taxi to drive her there. He had calmly explained that there were no taxis in such a small city, and even if there were, they might not know where she is going and technically since she didn't know where she was starting out from, she didn't know where she was going either.

She seemed to get angry about that but had agreed to let him escort her. Ale had to admit that he found her constant suspicion very funny. I mean he had saved her from what was quite possibly a fate worse then death after all and yet she insisted on finding any possible way of limiting their contact. He supposed that it was a smart thing to do, she only had his own word that he had saved her, but it was still ironic.

He smirked as he wondered exactly what she would think of his method of transportation. He doubted that she would be very thrilled. Trying to look as nonchalant as possible, he walked up to his favorite motorcycle and leaned against it, watching her face for any sign of fear or shock.

She surprised him though, actually looking slightly impressed, "This is yours?" she asked.

He turned around to make sure that he had leaned against the right machine. It was his alright, just as insanely dangerous looking as it always had. His motorcycle was large and powerful looking, so tall it nearly reached his chest. Sleek and black with colorless flames engraved into the metal and two wheels that were more then a couple inches taller then his knees, anyone could tell that this thing was built for power and speed.

And she wasn't fazed by it? The cautious and fearful person who had, if his ears weren't lying to him, placed a chair underneath the doorknob leading into the place where she had slept (not that that would have slowed him down if he _had _wanted to harm her in some way, but he would let her have her mental security), was unfazed, even looked excited, at the prospect of riding on this monster.

"Yes, this is mine." he answered, deciding that in all honesty it probably wasn't the same thing and that he shouldn't think too hard on it, "I have a couple more if you would prefer a more tame ride."

She shook her head, "No, this is fine." Ale might have been imagining things but he thought that she looked as though she were purposefully trying to look more uncaring about it then she was. What was she holding back though, excitement or fear? Suddenly she seemed to notice something, "Don't you have a sidecar?"

Ale grinned, "Nope," he watched her face fall, "You'll just have to sit behind me and hold on tight."

She glared at him, but he ignored and shifted his leg up and over the seat of the monstrous vehicle. He grinned again and patted the spot right behind him, "Don't worry, I won't let you get hurt."

She didn't look convinced, but she grudgingly pulled herself up and onto the motorcycle seat (which was large enough to have three people sitting all behind each other comfortably) and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

Ale turned on the throttle and in an instant they were gone, accelerating at a dangerous speed. Ale weaved through the few cars that were on the streets and laughed in excitement. The powerful wind in his face blocked out his own sound though. This was what he lived for.

As soon as he had a straight strip of road with no other cars he turned his head ever so slightly to look at his passenger. Serena was shouting something but he couldn't hear exactly what it was. She looked positively terrified. Ale was having so much fun.

Suddenly her eyes opened wide in horror and wildly gestured her finger forward. Ale turned to see a car blocking his path. It was moving in the same direction as they were, but they were traveling much faster. There was no way he could slow down in time not to hit it (at least not without stopping so fast that the two of them would be sent flying), and there was a second car blocking the other side of the street.

Ale grinned and sped up even more. An instant before he slammed into the car he zipped his hand over to a small red button on the throttle. An earsplitting boom exploded from the back end of the motorcycle and it shot into the air, flying straight over the car and landing, safely, in front of it.

Ale could have sworn that he heard over the roar of the wind and the engine someone screaming at him, "Stop driving like a maniac you brain-dead freak!!!" He pretended he didn't hear it.

The one problem with driving so quickly of course was that it never lasted very long. Before he knew it, he was nearing the shop. He slowly let off the power and coasted to a stop in front of a small shack of a building with the words "Warrior's Warehouse". He smiled and tried to shift himself off of his motorcycle, but found that he couldn't move.

Serena's arms were still locked, like a pit-bull's jaws, around his waist. He turned his head to try and see her face and sighed. Her eyes seemed to be frozen wide open and she shook slightly. Her jaw was clenched shut. Ale attempted to gently remove her arms from his waist but even with his above average strength they would not budge.

For the first time he actually felt slightly guilty. Perhaps he shouldn't have done that, for all he knew she could have some sort of unnatural fear of motorcycles. He twisted around as much as he could and placed his hand on her shoulder, "Are you all right?" He asked, his voice hushed with concern.

She flicked her eyes over to his face and then grinned. To his surprise she began chuckling, which quickly turned into powerful laughs. Not knowing exactly what to do, Ale began chuckling himself. She slammed her fist into the back of his head, "DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN YOU SUICIDAL MANIAC!!!" she huffed and shifted herself off of his monster of a motorcycle.

Ale smiled and jumped off himself, "Alright, next time you get to drive."

Serena glared at him, "Good!"

Ale smiled as he realized that she hadn't denied the possibility of a second time. He watched her as she turned towards the door and his smiled widened when he saw her smile to herself as well. His gut told him that, despite her lashing out at him, she had enjoyed their lighting fast trip much more then she let on.

He pointed to the sign above the small shop, "Very creative name." he commented sarcastically.

"Oh shut up." Serena replied as she reached into her pockets for the key to the door. She pulled open the door and turned to him, "You coming in?" she asked.

Ale smiled as he realized that she had gotten over her initial mistrust. He nodded and followed her into the shop.

The place was small, slightly dusty, and covered with shelves, all empty. There was a counter in the back, and a door behind the counter. Serena walked through this door and came out a moment later with a large box of various assorted spears and swords. She began placing them on the shelves.

Ale smiled, "Be careful with that stuff, you wouldn't want to trip and fall onto these things." He followed her through the door.

The back room was much larger but otherwise the same. There were dozens, if not hundreds of boxes of various weapons. Axes, swords, guns, and other, unusual types of weapons that he had no name for. Some of the boxes were so large that one ordinary person would have no chance at lifting them.

"Are you supposed to do this on your own?" he asked sceptically.

Serena shrugged, "Not all of them go out now, we were going to hire someone to help out but no one has volunteered yet."

Ale rolled his eyes and walked over to one of the largest boxes, easily a foot taller then himself. He placed one hand underneath it and lifted it up as though it were no heavier then a box of tissues, "Where do you want these?" he asked.

"You don't need to help-" she cut off mid sentence as she turned around and saw what he was doing, "How the heck are you doing that?" she asked, too flabbergasted to even sound shocked.

Ale chucked and replied, "Just tell me where it goes."

She took a moment to recover her wits, "Uhhh...those are axes, they go in the corner to the left of the door."

Ale nodded and walked back through the door to the main part of the shop. "Over here?" he asked as he pointed to one of the larger shelves. Serena nodded and he placed them down before returning to the back room.

"You really don't have to help me, I'll just wait until we hire an assistant before I move the bigger things."

Ale turned to her and smiled, "It's no problem at all, I've helped you this far, I might as well do the job properly. Besides leaving a beautiful young lady to do this sort of thing herself is certainly not the gentlemanly thing to do."

Serena blushed but didn't press the issue.

"So then," Ale continued, "Tell me more about yourself. Why did you decide to get a job in a weapons shop if you are so pessimistic about it?"

Serena shrugged, "Because I'm good at it. My dad was a powerful warrior and he taught me just about everything there is to know about weapons. I never had much aptitude for fighting, so I became a weapons dealer instead. And I al-" she cut herself off and turned her head away. He wasn't sure if he had imagined it, but Ale thought that he saw a slight blush on her cheeks.

"You also what?" he asked, determined to know what she was hiding.

She shook her head, "It's nothing important."

"Yes it is." he replied, "You wouldn't have brought it up if it wasn't."

She turned away, "Well...I also have made a few of my own weapons." he couldn't very well with her facing away from him but she looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Why are you ashamed of that?" he asked, "Are any of your designs around here?"

She slowly nodded, "I brought them with me, but they aren't for sale. My boss doesn't think that they are up to the standards of the other things in the shop."

"May I see them?" Ale asked.

Serena looked terrified, "Absolutely not!" Ale raised his eyebrows in questioning, "I don't want you looking at my crummy creations! Just keep putting the official stuff out."

Ale smirked at her, "Where are your weapons?" he asked.

Serena's eyes flickered ever so slightly towards a corner of the storage room. It was such a small movement that a normal person would probably not have even seen it if they were looking for it, but Ale was not a normal person. Without waiting for her to respond he turned to the corner and walked toward a small box that was much smaller then then most of the others and moved away from them.

"Hey! Don't go over there." Serena sounded almost desperate. Ale ignored her.

He opened the box, reached his hand in, and pulled out a pair of the most unusual weapons he had ever seen in his life. They were like hoops, around a foot and a half in diameter with eight dagger-like blades each surrounding the perimeter. X shaped handles crossed through the center of each hoop. They were totally bizarre.

Ale loved them immediately. He had been trained to use a sword, spear, quarterstaff, just about any weapon you could imagine. He had never taken to any of them, far prefering to use his hands, or his magic. No weapon had ever felt right in his hands. But these...these he could tell already were perfect for him. He would never need to use another weapon.

"What do you call these?" He asked, turning to look at their maker. His eyes gleamed in excitement.

Serena looked embarrased, her face red as a ruby and turned away from him. "They're called chakrams..."

"How much you want for them?" He grinned. He wanted these, and no price was going to be too high.

Serena looked shocked, "They're not for sale...If you want to buy something then I can get you something much better then those."

Ale shook his head. No weapon was better then these, "Doesn't matter, I want these chakrams. Name your price."

Serena narrowed her eyes in anger, "You don't have to pity me you know. I don't particularly care that my creations suck."

Ale couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was it really so hard to believe that he wanted to buy these chakrams. He wasn't sure what her so-called idiot of a boss had told her, but he couldn't imagine anyone NOT liking these. "This IS a weapons store, these ARE weapons, just tell me what you want for them."

She looked sceptical, "You really want these huh?"

Ale nodded.

She smirked at him, "500 thousand munny." She turned away and back to the boxed weapons.

She really didn't know Ale yet. He wasn't sure if she was bluffing or not, nor did he care. He didn't care about munny, his pockets were deep enough that even that huge amount would barely be a dent in his wallet. And even if it wasn't he still didn't care about munny enough to value any amount more then something that he really wanted, like these chakrams. He had never held any weapon that seemed to suit him so well.

He tapped her shoulder and she turned to see him offering her the largest wad of munny she had probably ever seen in her life, "Is that each?" he asked, "Or for the whole set?"

Serena looked at the cash in his hand for a moment, then flicked her eyes to Ale's face. She seemed to be looking for something. After a moment she huffed and pushed his money back into his chest. "Take um," she said, with a slight pout, "If you want them that much you can have them. They're a gift."

Ale smiled in gratitude. Not that he cared about the money, but he liked the idea that she would want to give him gifts, "Thanks a bunch, now that we have that out of the way," he turned back to numerous boxes that still needed to be emptied into the front of the store, "Lets get this job done."

* * *

Serena couldn't believe it. A job that she had expected to take days alone had been finished within a few hours. Ale was an unnaturally fast and efficient worker. She wished that she could find an actual worker who would work that well. She turned to watch him toss her, now his, ring-like weapons into the air, catching them an instant before they touched the ground. She just couldn't understand it. Her boss had flat out told her that the chakrams were sub-par at best. Was he just trying to make her feel better? But if that was it then he was certainly a great actor. He looked positively like a five year old fawning over a new toy.

After a moment he seemed to become bored with his game and turned back to her, "So then, I believe I got distracted before, I was going to ask you more about yourself."

She rolled her eyes but answered, "Shoot."

"You said that you opted to leave your old world because you had no real ties there, what was that about? Didn't you have friends or family? What about your warror father?"

Serena thought for a moment, "My father was a paladin who came from a world that only became aware of gummi ships and the other worlds about a year before my birth. He always said that he liked the other worlds well enough but that he would prefer not to leave his home. He said that he might feel differently if he didn't have my mother and me to take care of." She smiled to herself, "He was one of the most well-renowned heroes of his own world but when his world became a part of so many others, he became just another above average warrior."

Ale tilted his head, "He was famous on his world? Would I know him?"

She shrugged, "Probably not, his name was Cecil."

Ale shook his head, "Don't recognize that name." He paused for a moment, "The way you talk about him you must have a lot of affection for him, why did you leave?"

She smiled slightly, "Dad said that I should live my own life and not let myself be held down by him. I never had many friends, back home I am sort of well know myself because of my dad and I didn't like people hovering around me because of that. I prefer to live by my own hand rather then riding on the tail-coats of others. The only place on my own home world where I could do that was the moon, and the Lunarians annoy me."

Ale blinked in vauge surprise. Did she just say the moon? It never ceased to surprise him how different other worlds could be. He liked his world, and how much of a struggle it could be to live there, but he had certainly enjoyed his trips to the other worlds. He decided not to ask about these other moon people though, they weren't really linked to her, and so they didn't interest him.

"So you didn't have any friends at all?" he asked

She turned her head down for a moment. When she raised it again she was grinning, "Come on, it's about time to open shop. I want to see how well we do on our first day."

Ale raised an eyebrow and decided not to inquire further. He turned to the door and watched as she flipped the closed sign to say "Open".

* * *

The day seemed to fly by. Ale watched as customer after customer walked through the shop. His theory that a weapons shop would do well here seemed to be correct, after only a few hours they had seemed to clear out a quarter of the store's wares. Every type of person came in to buy something to defend themselves. Mothers who were afraid of the gangs and thugs that ran rampant through many of the cities streets, adventurers and workers who spent their days going out into the deserts and needed things to defend themselves from desert creatures, anyone who felt the need for a little more defence, and in Galat that was pretty much everybody.

There were other shops in the city that sold arms as well of course, but most were so overpriced that only the wealthy and the gangs could afford them. Either that or they were such terrible quality that you would be better off using a crowbar or baseball bat. A place like this was like a godsend to the people of this city.

Ale smirked to himself as he watched even more customers walk out with some sort of object of self defence in their hands. He had taken an interest in this shop (due in no small part to it's very lovely manager), and he had personally helped out a few of them. He knew a decent bit about battle, and as such he knew a decent bit about weapons. He chuckled to himself. He felt like an employee, perhaps he should get paid for this? Not that he would ever accept that of course.

Ale smiled as he heard the door open and turned to greet the new customer. He didn't get far however, his blood ran cold as he recognized the man walking into the store. The man's face was totally devoid of emotion, unless boredom counted as an emotion. His blueish, silvery hair reached down to his mid-back and he had an X shaped scar between his eyes. His clothes were simple, a black shirt that clung tight to his muscular chest and that had a crescent moon symbol on it, light jeans, and combat boots. Ale felt a chill roll down his spine at the sight of the familiar man.

Before he could react, the man noticed him and gave the smallest ghost of a grin before sauntering over, "Well, well...I didn't expect to see you here Ale."

Ale gave a slight nod, "Hello Sai...It's nice to see you again." No it wasn't...

Sai noticed the chakrams in Ale's hands and raised an eyebrow, "I admit I am somewhat surprised to see you in a place like this. I thought you didn't like weapons." he smirked, "Although those odd things do seem to suit you."

Ale shook his head, "Actually I'm not here as a customer."

Sai looked incredulous, "You're not an employee are you?"

Ale shook his head, "No...friend of the manager actually." Why did he say that? He didn't want to draw Sai's attention to Serena. His eyes started scanning the store but couldn't see her. She must be in the back somewhere, and he hoped that she stayed there. He did NOT want her to have anything to do with this man.

Sai made a noise that was probably the closest thing that someone like him could get to a chuckle, "Friend? I wasn't aware that you had friends Ale...just people who you keep around for convenience until it becomes more convenient to abandon them." He actually grinned, "Just like me."

Ale chuckled nervously, "Ah come on Sai, you know I'm not like that...that was just business between you and me." he placed one of his hands on the back of his head, "You don't still hold a grudge for that."

Sai smiled, "Of course not."

Ale could feel the sweat appearing on his face. He cursed as he heard the back door open. Bad timing Serena, very bad timing.

"Hello, welcome to..." Serena stopped as she noticed the air between the two men. "Ale...is something wrong?" She asked.

Sai responded before Ale could, "So you are a friend of Ale's eh?" He asked, his voice polite, a warm smile on his face, "It is very nice to meet you. My name is Sai, and I have been an associate of Ale's for a very long time."

"I'm Serena, it's very nice to meet you." she looked wary, "Did Ale invite you here?"

This time Ale was able to speak first, "No...as a matter of fact he was just telling me that he was leaving...right Sai?"

Sai smiled, "Oh I think that I can stay for a little while. After all I haven't seen you in a decent while."

Sai turned to address Serena, but Ale beat him to it, "Get out Sai." His voice was firm and unwavering.

Sai narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"I said get out...we don't sell to mob bosses here." Serena flicked her eyes to Sai, now showing a slight fear. Ale continued, "I put you in jail once, I can do it again if you don't leave right now."

Sai glared at him. His eyes flicked for a fraction of a second to Serena. Ale moved so fast that he appeared to be a blur, moving in-between the silver-haired man and Serena. He crossed his charkrams in front of himself and glared at Sai, "I thought that you had ten years in prison Sai, but unless my memory is slipping I only put you in there three years ago. I don't know how you got out without causing a huge commotion but if you try anything I can send you right back for the other seven."

Sai narrowed his eyes and turned, but not before giving both Ale and Serena a murderous stare. He exited the shop.

Serena turned to Ale, "Who the heck was that guy?" She asked, her voice concerned.

Ale turned to her and smiled, "Did I ever tell you that I used to be a bounty hunter?" He asked jovially, as though none of that had just happened. Serena shook her head. Ale continued, "Yeah, I was pretty darn good at it too. That is how I made all my millions. It went well for while...I was hunting down murderers, and rapists, and all sorts of other monstrosities, and I was having a great time. It was all a bunch of great fun. I learned how to fight, and use magic, and I got to meet a whole lot of interesting people. You'd be surprised by how nice murderers can be when they're off the clock. I was the best in the biz, never failed to catch the crook. That was until I met Sai. He seemed to be a small time criminal, killed one guy in a drunken rage and stole from a few stores." Ale sighed and tilted his head up to look at the ceiling, "I caught up to him. His bounty was small, but I thought I could make some pocket change. You can imagine my surprise when he kicked the crap out of me." He titled his head down to his feet now, "If I had done my research right I would have known that he had a bit more of a reputation in a different world. He came here where no one had ever heard of him to start fresh but back in his home world he ran half the mafia."

Serena's eyes opened wide in shock, "Half the mafia?" she asked in disbelief, "How is that possible?"

Ale shrugged, "Thugs are drawn to people with power...and he was very powerful."

"So tell me what happened!"

Ale grimaced, "It wasn't much, I came after him expecting an easy bounty, and he caught me off guard. I still don't know if I could have beaten him if I was better prepared. The only reason that I'm not dead right now is because I was saved by this guy with a freaking huge sword named Zack. The two of us working together were able to take him down pretty quick. We brought him in alive and the judge gave him 10 years."

Serena looked confused, "Why just ten years if he is such a major criminal?"

Ale's eyes narrowed, "Because he was tried back in his own home world where owns half the mafia, and the judge that was originally intended to try him was shot the day before his trial. The new one wasn't thrilled with the prospect of getting Sai angry."

Serena lowered her eyes, "That isn't right."

Ale shook his head, "No...it's not, but right now there is not much that we can do about it, unless I actually catch him doing something illegal. He may have escaped from prison, which would explain why he is out seven years early, but unless I have confirmation that that is the truth...all I can do is wait for him to do something that will allow me to place him back in jail." he turned to her and smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry about it Serena, he won't try anything when he knows that I'm here. He knows that he only beat me the last time is because he caught me off guard, I doubt he wants to take the chance that he could beat me again." That was a lie. Right now Ale was panicking on the inside. Sai wasn't afraid of anything, and he was the type of guy to hold a grudge. Ale realized that it was a mistake almost an instant after he had placed himself between Sai and Serena. If he knew his old enemy, Sai would be after Serena now, anything to spite Ale.

He was going to have to stick to the girl like glue.

* * *

That's it for chapter one. I was originally intending to make this a one shot, but it ended up being far too long. It's going to have three chapters now.


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